38TH ANNUAL REV. DR. MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR. CELEBRATION Keynote Speaker: CIVIL RIGHTS ICON, DR. BENJAMIN CHAVIS, JR. - Monday, January 16, 2023, 9:00am

National Holiday Celebration - Monday, January 16, 2023, 9:00am

John Adams Middle School Performing Arts Center, 2425 16th St., Santa Monica, CA

We are delighted that Dr. Ben Chavis, Jr. will be our keynote speaker. He is currently President and CEO of the National Newspaper Publishers Association, which supports and advocates for publishers of the nation’s more than 230 black newspapers. He is an author, journalist, environmentalist, chemist, a United Church of Christ ordained minister and global entrepreneur. As a young man, Dr. Chavis was a youth coordinator and Southern Christian Leadership Conference assistant to Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. In 1995, he was the National Director of the Million Man March. In 2001, he became CEO and co-Chairman of the Hip-Hop Summit Action Network which he co-founded with Russell Simmons. Dr. Chavis was at the forefront of the environmental justice movement and coined the term “environmental racism.” After the celebration, we urge you to continue your civic engagement by visiting the Community Involvement Fair for information and conversation with representatives from a variety of community organizations.